A Passion Redeemed (The Daughters of Boston, Book 2) Paperback – September 1, 2008

Lots of passion and conflict but also a mighty Father through it all who has the final say! There was sorrow and pain, repents and rebirth. I loved it.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: Charity O'Connor is determined to win Mitch's heart. There's just a few problems. One, Mitch hates her and blames her for ruining his relationship with Faith, the only woman he's ever really loved. And now, Charity has set her sights on him, he's furious. Charity is a shallow girl used to getting her way. She has no depth and no religion in her life. And for Mitch, a pretty face just isn't enough.Charity knows it won't be easy to win him over, but Charity always gets what she wants. She has a plan that's going to make Mitch love her. But when you make a deal with the devil, you get burned. Will Charity be able to win Mitch over or will she end up lonely?I was surprised by how much I loved this book. After getting to know Mitch and Charity so well in the first novel, I couldn't wait to watch these two characters square off.Julie did a great job of developing these characters even more. Why was Charity so hostile to Faith? Why was Mitch so anti-God at first? Both of those questions and several more are answered in this novel.The writing was as beautiful as ever, the characters just as compelling, the plot just as gripping, and the story every bit as wonderful as the first one. The only exception was that with Faith and Collin, I felt a little bit more connected to their stories and I was just ever so slightly more engaged with that one than this one.So why 4 stars? For the reasons I already listed above. While I still really loved this one, I just didn't form the same connections as I did with Faith and Collin. I thought the first one was slightly better so that one got a 5, while this one brought in 4. I still really loved this one though.In Summary: A beautiful, compelling, masterfully written book that sucked me in from page one. I adored this book. Definitely recommend this one.Side-notes: Julie's books are passionate. She's talking about people who are very much in love, but she never crosses the line. I actually loved how passionate her books were because they were clean and talked about these matters in an appropriate way. Her book isn't edgy and her message about dealing with this passion is very appropriate and clean.The Wrap-up: Julie is an incredible writer and has quickly become one of my all-time favorites. I definitely recommend her to all of you.Love, Danica Page

I started this book not liking Charity O’Connor at all. I’ve never read a book where I didn‘t care much for a main character. I usually just quit, but I liked A Passion Most Pure so much, that I had to find out what would happen with Charity and Mitch. I am happy to say, that I did end up enjoying this book a lot. Charity grew on me as the story progressed. Julie is an excellent storyteller and I was quickly drawn into the story.If you’ve read a Passion Most Pure, then you know part of Charity’s story. For some reason, unknown to even her, she is often cruel to those closest to her. She pushes her family away and will manipulate a situation to what she thinks is her advantage. She uses people and the only ones she seems to truly love are her great-grandmother, grandmother, and best friend Emma. We get the impression that something awful happened to her, but we don’t find out what until later on. While Charity has several unfavorable traits, she has a sweet side too, which is what endeared her to me. We see that she has a kind spirit, but for some reason, she hides it.I loved Mitch! He was great in Faith’s book, so I was super excited to read his story. He’s a little rough around the edges and doesn‘t always react kindly. His faith has grown stronger and he’s determined to live a life honoring God, but Charity makes it difficult. She gets under his skin like no one else, which leads to a lot of interesting arguments and altercations. We also see a kind side in him, as well. While gruff on the outside, inside he truly cares about those around him, sometimes against his better judgment. I loved how sweet he was with Charity, even when she was being a pain. He’s perfect for her, because he doesn’t allow her to push him around or manipulate him like she does her other beaus.My favorite part was the redemptive theme woven throughout the book. Mitch and Charity both must be redeemed by God’s love and love Him first. That is what He requires of each of us, that we love Him first and seek His will. Charity spends most of the book bucking His will and trying to go her own way. She is determined that she doesn’t need Him, and my favorite part in the whole book is when she finally understands that she is His and she is redeemed. I almost cried with her. Mitch also learns that he cannot continue to allow himself to be defined by his past and cannot continue holding Charity’s mistakes against her, either.I love the faith in each book, because while entertaining, they also teach and remind. They teach us something new about ourselves and about God as we view our hearts and lives through this lens. They remind us who we are in Him and show us the kind of passion He has for us.

Julie Lessman's A Passion Redeemed continues the unfolding drama of the O'Connor family's lives, picking up in a prologue where A Passion Most Pure left off. In this stunning, heart-wrenching novel, readers fall in love with their least favorite antagonist, Charity O'Connor, and their most favorite hero, Mitch Dennehy, as they struggle--alongside the multiple characters of the story--with two unbreakable iron wills that have finally met their match. When Charity sets her sights on her "beloved" sister's ex-fiancé, sparks fly...and so does hurt. Will she gain her heart's desire or will her heart gain a new one altogether?You can find out in Lessman's wild and breathtaking journey of A Passion Redeemed, where she wows you with her detailed descriptions of beautiful and bustling Dublin, comforts your aching soul with the love of Christ and His beacons of light, and brings a rush of warmth to your cheeks with her signature passion. I suppose you could say she did it again, possessing a perfection very few new authors could at the time of her second novel.(And, yes, I'm keeping it short this time. 😉 All the mushy-gushy nonsense can be found in my review on Goodreads.)I highly recommend this novel. I do. It drove me crazy, but I think we all need a little crazy, don't we? Okay, maybe at this point in time--as in May 2020, y'all--we could use a little LESS crazy... The point still remains. I love Julie Lessman and I love her books, even the crazy ones. And...I guarantee, if you open your heart to a little Irish Catholic lovin', you'll love her too!BookWorm

Julie Lessman is making waves in Christian circles with good reason. This is the second book of her series ever, but you'd think she was a seasoned professional. This book is number 2 of 3 (each about sister of the same family) and there is a 4th coming out in October (the first of a new series, but about the 4th sister) and I'm dying for it.These books are EDGY Christian fiction. They deal much more intimately with the lusts and temptations of real life. Julie Lessman is a very honest author and though the writing is far more EDGY than normal Christian romance, it is by no means raunchy or sinful. It is beautifully and these books change lives and inspire the reader to higher heights. The reader can really relate to the characters who are so beautifully developed and each books begins exactly where the previous ended.Lessman is brilliant at twists and turns. You will never know even up until the last page how it is going to end! I own these books already but they are in another country and I miss them so much, I am ordering them again where I live now!Even a non-Christian reader will fall in love with these books as the twists will keep one flipping pages. I always am sad when a good book ends, and though these (at 500 pages) are some of the longest of the genre I have read, they are the quickest read because they are so fantastic.I am not exaggerating. These are the best books I ever read and I am well versed in Christian Fiction Romance.Lastly, these books are all strong enough to be read stand-alone, however if read in sequence, the characters are that much more developed and you will better understand the intense family dynamics.

Quite good, but not one of the best, got a little bored because you could see the ending

Is a great read

Wow! I was again blown away by the depth and character of this novel. I was privileged to walk with Charity throughout her journey. Loss, heartache, and pain, but in the end, LOVE ALWAYS WINS! It was so powerful to see how God worked through and in these characters. Loved the honesty behind this novel as well. Questions and confusions that I had in the first novel were answered with thoughtfulness.WARNING! Be prepared to fall in love with these beautiful, strong and vulnerable people. I wasn't sure how much I would like Charity after some things she did, but I shouldn't have worried! Lessman pulled it off brilliantly. I loved the passion the characters displayed in an appropriate way. You will love them, and I hope that in the end, you will be rooting for them as much as I was.Happy reading!

I looked forward to this 2nd book in the Daughter's of Boston series but this one wasn't as good as the first. I liked how the author examines family dynamics and gives some insight into what makes Charity tick. I think this part of the story was handled fairly well.However, once again I was struck by how historically inaccurate the book is. I didn't get a good sense of the setting - there were only a few references to it but not enough to make you feel like you're "there". The setting is WWI and into the 1920's, but the dialogue and thinking is 21st century. Most of the time, Charity is annoying and the way she throws herself at Mitch is overdone and, unfortunately, not believable. I got tired of her and I didn't believe that a guy like Mitch would fall for her, even though she was impossibly beautiful. There was too much blushing and moaning and it took away from the story, rather than enhance it. At the same time, the traumatic things Charity experiences are resolved too quickly and easily.Unfortunately, the spiritual references were also overdone, and that was another point of frustration. I agree with the author's theology. I understand what she's saying and she says it well in some places but its too much of a good thing. A few well placed references/discussions would have been far more effective, in my opinion.